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Celtic defender Jack Hendry is hoping his move to the A-League can help put him on Steve Clarke’s A-List for Scotland’s Euro 2020 playoff.

The talented defender moved to Melbourne City last week in a loan switch from Parkhead for the season.

The 24-year-old had several options in Scotland and England and thought about things long and hard before he decided Australia was the best place to get his career back up and running.

Hendry already has three caps and is desperate to do well at City because he knows it could open the Scotland door again and that is a burning ambition, especially with the showdown against Israel in March.

“I love playing for my country and it is one of the biggest honours in the game,” Hendry proudly claimed.

“That was one of the reasons why I wanted to come out on loan because I want to push to get back into the Scotland set-up.

“My debut against Hungary is one of my proudest moments in the game and playing for my country means the world to me and my family.

“It is an exciting time for the national team and whether I am involved in the play-offs or not I will be supporting the team.

“Opportunities like this don’t come round too often.

“The play-offs are a massive opportunity for the team to progress and every top Scottish player will be desperate to be involved. “I am no different but my main focus in the short-term is just to come out and do as well as I can with Melbourne City over the coming weeks.”

The good thing for Hendry is that Scotland aren’t over-loaded with right-sided central defenders.

Clarke, at times, has played two left-footed players and Hendry is hoping he can catch his eye – even if it is just via the A-League highlights on BT Sport.

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Hendry admitted: “Scotland don’t have a lot of right-sided central defenders just now and I feel I am more than capable of stepping back up to that level again.

“I showed that in my first couple of games for Scotland against Hungary and Mexico.

“I maybe didn’t hit the same heights against Portugal but I was playing with an injury at the time and I was also in and out of the Celtic team at that time because of that.

“The key is to get my head down and to play well for Melbourne City and if I do that then hopefully Scotland will come around again.”

It is all about getting minutes under the belt. His only top team Celtic appearance came in the League Cup win over Partick Thistle, although, through his own choice, he had been getting regular run outs with the second string to keep his match fitness up.

When Melbourne came about he turned to Celtic coach Damien Duff and midfielder Daniel Arzani, who have both had spells at City, for advice.

The defender had interest from Hearts and other Premiership teams along with options in the England Championship and League One.

“Daniel had been out at City for a couple of seasons and Damien was also across here for a season,” Hendry confirmed.

“They both gave glowing reports of the club and the city so that also helped me make my decision.

“They definitely advised me to go out and give it a go.

“I had other offers in England and Scotland but when I heard about Melbourne City it sounded perfect, especially with it being part of the City Group as well that was another big appeal.

“I did a bit of homework into how they played, I knew they had a good set-up and I just thought it was the perfect move for me to go out and get games.”

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Melbourne coach Erick Mombaerts also did his own selling job as he wants his own team to play in the same way as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City – as they are all part of the City Group. Hendry, who is now playing alongside ex-Hibs striker Jamie MacLaren, is looking to try to help his new side to their own play-off glory bid.

“I just want to get as much game time as possible,” the ex-Wigan defender claimed. “The regular season finishes in April but hopefully we can do well and get the team into the play-offs which are after that. “There is a lot to play for.”

Hendry still has a long-term contract and Celtic and believes he can go back in the summer and force his way back into Neil Lennon’s plans.

He said: “I still feel I can have a future at Celtic.

“I love playing for Celtic and they are a massive club.

“I still have a couple of years left on my contract there and I feel I can still become a first-team regular at Celtic but for just now I just need to go out get games and to get back playing the way I know I can – to the level that convinced Celtic to go out and buy me from Dundee in the first place.”